Adam Weitsman Buys 117 Pudgy Penguins, Super Phoenix Sports Previews Talking Bored Apes

Adam Weitsman funded a new wallet with $1 million and bought 117 Pudgy Penguins in a floor sweep, adding to a collection he already held in the hundreds. Hosts estimated he now owns more than 2% of the collection, though wallet accounting makes the exact share uncertain. They described the purchase as support for a collection he is already invested in, rather than a planned flip, and said he does not sell NFTs. The floor was reported at 2.69 ETH, up 14% from its dip; hosts said the buying absorbed supply and helped stop the short-term decline, but cautioned that any support from Weitsman is finite.

The purchase came amid a wave of loan liquidations. The loan book had peaked at 359 loans, with 80% headed to auction; 89 Penguins were liquidated, 134 loans repaid and 135 refinanced. The recap put the net debt reduction at 3.3 ETH and lenders’ net losses at 3.3 ETH, with roughly 100 loans still remaining. Thirty loans reportedly ran from start to finish without being touched or recalled. Loan offers began filling the books as the floor bottomed overnight, then rose after Weitsman’s sweep the next morning.

Hosts disagreed on how much the sweep changes the outlook. One argued that clearing loan-driven selling can support the collection and that past liquidations have sometimes marked local bottoms before a bounce, while stressing that a rebound is not guaranteed. Another thought the floor might have fallen below 2 ETH without Weitsman’s intervention; Husker said the number of player loans still made a decline likely, even if clearing them could be bullish over the longer term. The hosts also speculated that Abstract’s shutdown news contributed to weak sentiment and cascading liquidations, while acknowledging other factors could have played a role. One speaker viewed Abstract’s move away from streaming and its return to the core business as sensible given the lack of product-market fit and significant spending, though the public relations around the decision was likely suboptimal.

Super Phoenix Sports previewed a product that turns a Bored Ape into a talking, responsive 3D character. Lance said Athena AI began as an effort to create an AI color caster for the company’s gaming broadcasts, but after roughly a month to six weeks the team realized it had also built “Board AI”: a 3D representation powered by a language model that can observe its surroundings and respond. The current prototype can converse by voice, animate an ape’s mouth and movements, and export conversations as videos for X. It runs on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet and currently requires users to upload an ape’s 3D file; the planned rollout begins with apes, then mutants and codas.

The team described the current MVP as enabling low-latency conversations with an ape that can keep up with timelines and current events while offline, then speak with its owner in character. Its private model setup uses ChatGPT6, Astra, virtual servers and virtual GPUs, according to the speakers. Real-time video input and commentary are key next steps, while gesture capabilities still need work. Super Phoenix envisions ape avatars commenting on games and tournaments alongside human hosts, a use it sees as a fit for its streaming business and for the distinctive identities and communities around Apes. The company has grown from two shows a week to about seven, with around 20 paid staff plus volunteers.

Commercial details remain unsettled. A speaker understood the product might cost about $5,000 for unlimited use in perpetuity and estimated post-beta pricing nearer $100 a month; the team said it expects pricing broadly comparable to current LLM apps, with costs potentially falling as efficiency improves. Founder and OG slots are expected to be limited, and larger OG spots are intended to include lifetime unlimited use, but exact tiers are not set. The first five or ten OG users are slated to receive hands-on help setting up their ape. The team also sees possible commercial applications in holders’ use of their own apes, while speakers noted that the growth of AI content could increase demand for human-made work or lead creators to use AI while retaining control.